COMMENTARY BY BRAUN (on verso): "Gmunden is a small town in the upper Archduchy of Austria, charmingly situated on a lake, where the Traun has its source. In Gmunden, a very profitable trade is conducted in salt, mined from the surrounding mountains, packed into barrels and exported via the Traun and sold to great profit. For this, they use small, long and narrow boats, which they roof over very skilfully with straw, so that the salt is not damaged by the rain. It is not possible to use bigger boats because of the rocks and trees posing obstacles in the Traun, which is also altogether very narrow."

Gmunden, which lies at the foot of Traunstein Mountain in the Austrian Salzkammergut region, is seen in cavalier perspective from the west shore of Lake Traunsee. Rising towards the rear of the town, which is somewhat schematic, is the Gothic parish church, with further right the Gugelberg tower on top of Gugelberg hill. The fortress of Ort in the foreground, surrounded by water, was constructed in the lake in the 10th century. Gmunden's advantageous location beside the outflow of the River Traun from Lake Traunsee meant that by the 11th century, it was already an important point of salt transhipment. In the 13th century, a turnpike was installed, and the town fortified. Gmunden continued to gain in importance and wealth into the 15th century and was the frequent residence of Emperor Frederick III and Maximilian I. (Taschen)

Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.

The Civitates Orbis Terrarum, or the "Braun & Hogenberg", is a six-volume town atlas and the greatest book of town views and plans ever published: 363 engravings, sometimes beautifully coloured. It was one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Georg Braun wrote the text accompanying the plans and views on the verso. Many of the plates were engraved after the original drawings of Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600), a professional artist. The first volume was published in Latin in 1572 and the sixth in 1617. Frans Hogenberg created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel made those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were cartographers Daniel Freese and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Translations appeared in German and French.

Following the original publication of Volume 1 of the Civitates in 1572, seven further editions of 1575, 1577, 1582, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1612 can be identified. Vol.2, first issued in 1575, was followed by further editions in 1597 and 1612. The next volumes appeared in 1581, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1606. The German translation of the first volume appeared from 1574 on, and the French edition from 1575 on.

Several printers were involved: Theodor Graminaeus, Heinrich von Aich, Gottfried von Kempen, Johannis Sinniger, Bertram Buchholtz and Peter von Brachel, who all worked in Cologne.

Georg Braun (1541-1622)

Georg Braun was born in Cologne in 1541. After his studies in Cologne, he entered the Jesuit Order as a novice. In 1561, he obtained his bachelor's degree and in 1562 his Magister Artium. Although he left the Jesuit Order, he studied theology, gaining a licentiate in theology.

Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590)

Frans Hogenberg was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. He was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg.

By the end of the 1560s, Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named an engraver of numerous maps. In 1568, he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates, published in 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.

Thanks to large-scale projects like the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.